


In This Kingdom Of Forever

by Oaklin



Series: Forever Everything [47]
Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Kayfabe Compliant, M/M, Purple Prose, Swearing, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, introspective musings about awful things, obligatory Kevin Steen warning, omg the Purple Prose, stealth angst, stealth romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-19 21:51:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10648767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oaklin/pseuds/Oaklin
Summary: In which two tiny wrestlers, in a big scary world, sit in the backseat of a car and watch the sky."For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams"-Edgar Allan Poe, Annabel Lee





	In This Kingdom Of Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello!
> 
> Okay, so I know that these last few fics have been really cramped together and weird. That might not be stopping any time soon though, because this one is probably the worst of the lot. I'm not quite sure how this all lines up exactly, as the events in this series don't always match up with the exact dates of what happened irl. Regardless, this is like, very soon after Wrestlefest still. Technically, I believe Wrestlefest took place like a day or two before Summerslam 2004, which was on August 14 or 15, if I am remembering correctly. So, the timing is a little fucky, but it doesn't matter too much. The fluff is gonna floof, either way ^.^
> 
> Now, the next one is looking like a continuation of this one. Seriously, this series is getting out of hand. Oh well, I did say I wanted to practice with these two. Also, I have no idea why bby!Steen got so stuck on the poetry theme. He gets pretty purple-prose-y sometimes, but this is a bit much. Oh well, it gave me a chance to read through Poe's stuff again, which I haven't done in ages. Also, I got to break out my great-grandmothers old poetry collection, so that was cool. It has been so long, but reading those as a child was what kindled my interest in writing.
> 
> (also, kinda on that topic, have any of you ever read Annabel Lee? Poe being- **Poe** non-withstanding, that poem is eerily appropriate here, I think :/)
> 
> Edit: Also, I wrote this before we even had the conversation, but I am dedicating Kevin's internal madman-poet to Mithen, as that kinda stuff seems to bring great joy ^.^

Kevin lets out an irritated sound as he rummages through the trunk, half tempted to slam the lid shut out of pure frustration. Resisting the strong urge to growl out loud, he knuckles down on the anger and continues to throw things around in the trunk, although now it is with deliberate meticulousness.

He could _swear_ he put-

**_“Wait!”_ **

The startled gasp has him looking up, reaching up to brace himself on the hood of the trunk. Something panicky and skittish floods him and he speaks before his brain can catch up to the rest of him.

“Sami? What happened?”

(goddamnit)

- _wow_ -

(shut **up** )

- _careful_ -

- _ **he** might get the idea that you **care** or something_ -

“Kevin?”

Sami’s voice is heavy with sleep and has a odd edge of fear to it. Something in the tone has Kevin slamming the trunk lid shut and stomping around the car, stopping at the back door and gazing through the open open window. Sami is sitting on the backseat, his legs curled up underneath him, blinking rapidly at his surroundings with a distinct deer-in-the-headlights look on his face.

Sami snaps to attention when Kevin comes to a stop, his reactions surprisingly on point for someone who just woke up. Kevin hesitates for an embarrassingly short amount of time before leaning down, resting his palms against the rolled down window and taking in the disheveled, sleepy look that Sami is rocking.

(enough of that)

“You have another nightmare?” Kevin asks warily, not recalling anything but unpleasant memories from those particular nights of sleepless helplessness.

- _oh really?_ -

(shut up)

(the important part was that _**I**_ couldn’t sleep)

- _right_ -

- _like you would ever trust yourself to rest peacefully when **Sami** is so **close**_ -

“Not really I just- it doesn’t really matter. Not now, at least. What where you doing back there anyway?” Sami replies, shrugging, and Kevin relaxes as the frightened edge slowly begins to bleed out of Sami’s voice.

Kevin scuffs at the gravel with his boot, inhaling through the slightly stilted air between them and avoiding eye contact.

“Uh, nothing. I was going to- never mind. It’s too fucking hot out right now anyway. The car is almost unbearable to be in, much less sleep in all night. We should go find a motel-”

- _rambling_ -

(your point?)

- _shut the fuck up_ -

Sami blinks up at him, his eyes heavy lidded, a thin sheen of perspiration making his heat-reddened cheeks glisten in the moon light-

(nope)

- _hey, you know what is a **super good idea**_ -

(No.)

( _nope_ )

( **not going there** )

( _ **fuck you**_ )

(and **_him_** -)

“So we should go, right now. This instant. Maybe to a hotel. Or anywhere, really. Get inside and find somewhere to stay that preferably has air conditioning. Right, I’ll-”

Sami’s fingers are clammy and clumsy, grasping at Kevin’s hands. Kevin blinks, watching Sami’s pale digits reach out and clasp around his wrists, the rough, hard earned scars and calluses sending little licks of flames up Kevin’s already uncomfortably warm arms.

Somehow, Sami’s skin is hotter than the metal of the car door.

howisthatfucking _possible_ -

“I’d rather stay here, if I’m honest. It feels so isolated, like we are on our on little island, separated from the troubles of the real would, you know?” Sami says, speaking the words directly to Kevin’s hands, for some reason.

Kevin closes his eyes, getting momentarily distracted in the pads of Sami’s thumbs tracing formless shapes onto Kevin’s skin. He is sure, for a heartbeat, that if he looks down, that there will be tattoo-like burn marks where Sami’s fingers go, leaving little trails of fire in their wake.

“We are not isolated, or away from the real world. We are in the real world, parked on the side of a dingy highway in the middle of nowhere, you crazy daydreaming madman,” Kevin says curtly, ducking his head to get an eyeful of pensive hazel and ruddy skin.

Sami meets his eyes for only the briefest of moments, before going back to staring closely at Kevin’s hands, eyes scanning them like he means to memorize the very patters of Kevin’s cells.

“Can’t we just-”

“And stop drawing penguins on the backs of my fucking hands. Jesus christ,” Kevin says, shifting his weight until he is resting against the molten car door, “It is way too fucking hot for that shit.”

- _fucking sap_ -

(it is not-)

- _not complaining_ -

Sami’s fingers are more pleasantly warm this way, instead of overwhelmingly volcanic like he had thought they would be. And their fingers slot together so seamlessly, lacing perfectly, if slightly asymmetrically. Kevin squints in the darkness, unable to take his eyes off the stark contrasts of their skin. He shifts his fingers a bit when Sami squeezes their digits together, the sensation sticky because of the sweat and unpleasant heat.

(that should be _gross_ )

- _then what is it?_ -

- _if it is not **gross** , i mean_-

(... **not gross.** )

- _really_ -

(...fuck **_you_** )

“I wish we could stay here for the rest of our lives. It feels so peaceful and easy, doesn’t it?” There is a lilt to Sami’s voice as he speaks, now gazing at their intertwined fingers with something bordering on awe, his eyes brimming with all sorts of things that Kevin can’t look at **_too long_** or he will-

(there **_he_ ** goes again)

(said **_he_ ** wouldn’t do that _shit_ anymore)

- _and you knew that that was a promise **he** couldn’t keep_ -

- _especially when you don't tell **him** what exactly the problem is_ -

(not a _problem_ )

- ** _forever_** -

“Okay then. Get up and we will-” Kevin stalls for a minute, his fingers feeling glued to Sami’s and his words getting jammed in his throat like he is some stuttering new kid on stage for the first time.

( **fuck** )

“-shit. We can stay here however long you want. See if I care.”

Kevin jerks himself upright, the act of pulling his fingers away from Sami’s is actually painful, as their skin seemed to have molded together in the short time that they were **_joined_**.

(no)

Kevin finds, belatedly, that he can’t physically will his body to move away form the back door of the car, however. Maybe it is the hot air billowing lazily around them, that seems loaded with some kind of witchcraft that seems hellbent on making Kevin do all sorts of things he would not normally do. Maybe it is the shimmering stars above them, glittering and shining like they are stuck in some cheesy chick-flick about nature and it’s majesty or some other kind of mushy bullshit.

Maybe it is the way that Sami is looking up at him, all soft smiles and burning hazel eyes that make Kevin’s heart clench painfully in his chest. Maybe it is the way that his fingers ball into fists completely on their own as they fall uselessly back to his sides, like they are missing their other half.

Maybe it is all of those things, and maybe it is none of them. Either way, Kevin feels rooted to the spot, like if he walks away it will take _more_ of him than he is willing to give.

Which is odd, considering that it is usually the **staying** that makes him feel like he is giving up all of himself, until there is nothing left of him but what **_remains_ ** in Sami’s outstretched hands.

(fuck)

The car door creaks in protest as he rips it open, twitching reflexively at Sami’s startled gasp. Deliberately slowing his movements and dragging steady breaths through clenched teeth Kevin sinks down in the open door way, sagging down on the rough ground with a tightly controlled exhale.

Sami watches him for a moment, eyes wide in the pale moonlight. He reaches out, hand trembling with what Kevin assumes is fear, though he sees none on **_that face_**. Sami’s fingers hover in the air, as if he _desires_ -

( **nope** )

Kevin slaps Sami’s hand down, huffing loudly at the wounded look he gets. As a compromise-

(because he **_can’t_** )

(not _right now_ )

(not **that touch** )

-Kevin clamps an unsteady hand around Sami’s knee, grasping too roughly and making Sami flinch at the harsh treatment. **_He_ ** accepts the contact though, scoots forward on the seat slightly, until both his legs are draped completely out of the open door, **_his_ ** calves resting against Kevin’s sides, and Sami’s ankles tucked close to Kevin’s thighs.

“Alright, you might have a point about that whole ‘we-should-stay-here-for-’ yeah,” Kevin swallows against the tightness in his chest, reaching up to rub a hand down his face, blinking through the stinging in the backs of his eyes, “There are worse places to be.”

Sami smiles, a soft, tender smile that Kevin has to look away from.

“I would give just about anything to stay here, with you. Not that that is really necessary,” Sami says his voice filtering through the gentle night air, shining brighter than the moonlight beating down on them. There is a certain melody to Sami’s voice at the moment, like he is half a moment away from bursting into song, as if they were in some horrible rendition of The Sound of Music.

- _yes_ -

- _that is what is bad about this situation_ -

- _idiot_ -

“What? I thought you wanted to stay here,” Kevin asks, before he can really register the words coming out of his stupid, traitorous mouth. He suppresses a full body cringe at his own idiocy, restlessly reaching down and tugging on the end of his shirt with a self deprecating cough.

- _ooh_ -

( _shut up_ )

- _watch out_ -

( **fuck you** )

- _the little ginger moron might catch wind that the big bad wolf has a heart, if you keep this up_ -

(whatever)

- ** _drama queen_** -

Sami doesn’t see to notice Kevin’s internal struggle, he just reaches up, carding a hand through **_his hair_** -

That seems to catch the poor **illumination** surrounding them just so, making it _**glow** _ in the dim moonlight-

- _easy there Poe_ -

(wrong poet)

(all his works were fucked up)

- _like you've ever read anything other than The Raven_ -

(...school sucks for everybody)

- _typical_ -

(anyway)

Kevin side-eyes Sami, who catches his eye immediately, like he had been watching Kevin the whole time. Kevin turns his head fully toward Sami, squinting suspiciously at the pale pain-in-the-ass in front of him. Sami just hums softly in response, one corner of his mouth quirking up tranquilly as he knocks his bony knees against Kevin’s arms.

“It it not the _‘here’_ that is **important** , Kevin.”

(that)

(doesn’t make _any_ sense)

- _only because you are **dumb**_ -

(what?)

- _why do **you** want to be here?_ -

( **that** is not-)

No.

(what does that have to do with **_anything?_** )

- _idiot_ -

“Then what **is** important, Sami?” Kevin asks, drawing his brow together in confusion, looking up at Sami.

Sami continues to smile gently at him, his eyes alight with something that make’s Kevin’s heart ache. Sami shifts, moving like he is going to pulls his legs back up under him. Kevin moves the hand on Sami’s knee a little higher, pressing down into the skin of Sami’s thigh until Sami stops shifting and looks at him with something other than that **_disconcerting tenderness_**.

Kevin just didn’t expect the new emotion to be **fondness**.

(even if the fondness seems to be coated in something like _sadness_ )

(which doesn’t make **_any fucking sense_** )

“I’m not going anywhere, Kevin.

The _hum_ in Sami’s voice is back, and it seems to pulse to some silent music that only Sami can hear.

It also seems to flow seamlessly into the halo-like **glow** surrounding Sami, at the moment.

Although, Kevin honestly can’t tell if he is _**imagining** _ that or not.

(probably)

- _fucking lunatic_ -

(...yeah)

“I’m staying right here, and I always want to stay here, but not because of this place in particular. It could be at any time, or at any place. It has never been about the **location**.”

Sami sighs, the far away look in his eyes going wistful, and Kevin finds himself griping Sami tighter as the world seems to spin uncontrollably around him.

“I want to be where you are. _**Always**_. I just want to be here, or there, or _anywhere_ really. As long as I can be there with **you**.”

“The **_important_ ** part is **_always you_**.”

**Author's Note:**

> As you can see, once the Poe shit started, I just decided to roll with it. I know Poe is pretty divisive, so if the heavy themes are too much for you, I understand. I have a soft spot in my heart for moody poetry though, so don't be surprised if this isn't the last time this happens. Also, I changed it a bit, but the title (I feel like I should explain the titles more, seriously) is derived from Annabel as well. I didn't even remember the 'in a kingdom by the sea' shit at first, but when that line between Kevin and his (subconscious?) popped up, the title just sprung up in my head. I didn't even realize that I had like, unconsciously remembered the line until I was glossing over the poetry books for editing purposes.
> 
> The mind is a funny thing sometimes, I guess ^.^
> 
> Anyway, hope you liked it!


End file.
